Chapter 171: The Woodwork

Dortmund threw every single man forward in pure desperation, and in the eighty-first minute, that frantic push finally cracked open an opportunity.

Şahin, advancing deep into the final third under Klopp's persistent orders, pounced on a stray clearance at the edge of the box after Bujerab coughed up possession. Before Jermaine Jones could close the angle, Şahin put his laces right through the bouncing ball, sending a venomous, first-time drive skidding toward the bottom corner.

Manuel Neuer reacted with a full-stretch dive, getting a solid palm to the ball, but the sheer momentum carried it past his glove. The strike grazed the inside base of the upright and spun cleanly across the line.

5-1.

The Dortmund players skipped any sort of celebration. Şahin reached into the netting, scooped up the ball under his arm, and jogged back toward the center circle with a grim, tight expression. Pulling back a consolation goal when you are staring at a four-goal deficit was hardly something to cheer about. Even so, the yellow wall gathered whatever voice it had left and produced a defiant roar. It was rooted purely in stubborn pride, but it brought some life back into the stands.

Bujerab stood near the edge of the circle with his hands planted on his hips, staring at the grass in sheer frustration over his giveaway.

"Keep your chin up," Mateo called out, jogging past and tapping him on the forearm. "It's just one loose pass. Shake it off, man. Next time we get the ball, you and me run it right through them."

The promised chance arrived three minutes later, developing precisely the way Mateo had drawn it up.

Jones won a crunching tackle in the center, stripping possession cleanly and sliding the ball into Mateo's stride. Dortmund's defensive structure was completely disjointed, with players caught ahead of the play. Mateo held up the ball, resisting the urge to go alone. He rolled a short pass into Bujerab's feet and darted forward, and Bujerab returned the favor with a crisp, first-time touch into the open channel.

A textbook one-two. The sequence sliced straight through a depleted Dortmund midfield that had committed far too many bodies upfield.

Mateo drove toward the edge of the area, deliberately pulling both Bender and Şahin into his orbit. He held their attention until the very last split second, then flicked a diagonal pass to his left, right into the path of Bujerab's arriving sprint.

The entire penalty area opened up in front of Bujerab. Green grass, the ball sitting up on his favored foot, and the net straight ahead. This was the exact redemption he had dreamed of when pulling on his boots, a golden chance to remind eighty thousand supporters of what he could deliver when trusted.

He was twenty-two yards out with clear sight of the target. A square pass was technically available, with Farfán hovering on Subotić's blind side for a tap-in, but Bujerab was not passing this time. He had his moment, and he was taking the shot.

He connected cleanly, catching the ball with his laces in a drive that looked ten times sharper than his wild effort earlier. The shot carried wicked velocity, dipping viciously toward the top corner. Roman Weidenfeller was stranded, his boots frozen to the turf as he watched the ball sail over his head.

The strike clattered against the underside of the crossbar with an ear-splitting thud, dropped straight down onto the chalk of the goal line, and spun away into the six-yard box.

The entire ground echoed with the metallic crack.

Bujerab collapsed to his knees near the penalty spot, burying his face in both hands as he stared at the woodwork that had robbed him by a fraction of an inch. A bit lower and he would have had his derby goal, the sweet redemption he desperately needed. Instead, the frame of the goal spit it back out, a brutal reminder of how unforgiving the margins could be when you are fighting for a comeback.

Mateo walked over and offered a firm hand, hauling him back to his feet.

"That was brutally close, man," Mateo said, slapping him on the shoulder. "Nine times out of ten, that dips right into the roof of the net."

"An inch," Bujerab muttered, his voice cracked with disbelief. "Literally half an inch."

"Keep striking it like that and you'll bury the next one," Mateo said softly. "You know you've got that shot in you."

Bujerab didn't manage a reply, but he gave a solemn nod, shaking off the disappointment as he jogged back into the midfield line.

Farfán added the sixth barely a minute later, and the ease of the finish felt almost cruel.

Dortmund committed too many men forward once again in a desperate attempt to find a second consolation goal. Schalke broke with blistering speed. Mateo drew the remaining defenders toward the middle before slipping an easy pass to Farfán, who was now operating as a second striker.

Farfán stepped into the box with all the time in the world. He opened his body, letting Weidenfeller commit his weight to the near post, and stroked a low, side-footed finish into the far corner with effortless precision.

6-1.

Farfán turned away from the net, but he bypassed the corner flag entirely. He sprinted straight toward Bujerab, wrapping both arms around the midfielder's shoulders with a massive grin.

"Keep your head up, that's for you!" Farfán shouted, loud enough to cut through the singing in the upper tiers. "You rattled them on that last run and opened up their entire middle. We don't get that space without you."

It was a generous way to frame it, but the gesture lifted the cloud from Bujerab's expression. The two players jogged back to the halfway line together, soaking in the surreal reality of a five-goal cushion on Dortmund's home turf.

Over on the sideline, Magath finally let the tension leave his shoulders.

Six goals to one. Away at the Westfalenstadion. First place in the Bundesliga well within their grasp.

The closing minutes turned into a quiet formality.

Dortmund were five goals down and exhausted from chasing shadows with ten men. The famous yellow wall had thinned out noticeably, with thousands of supporters streaming toward the exits early rather than watch the final whistle of their worst derby defeat. Jürgen Klopp stood with his hands tucked into his coat pockets, watching his young squad ride out the final minutes with whatever pride they had left. Schalke showed professional game management, circulating the ball calmly across their backline and letting the remaining seconds tick away safely.

Bujerab spent those final five minutes handling the unglamorous responsibilities. Rather than hunting for another long-range strike, he dropped deep alongside Jones, maintaining a tight defensive shape, cutting off passing corridors, and doing the gritty defensive work that playmakers usually dislike. He had come on chasing an individual highlight, but he finished the match putting in the disciplined shift that secures trophies.

When the referee finally blew for full time, the sound came as an immense relief to the home side.

The Dortmund players kept their heads down and marched straight into the tunnel, skipping the traditional handshakes, and the Schalke squad respected the bitter mood and let them walk. Instead, the royal-blue shirts sprinted toward the away section, where three thousand traveling fans were making enough noise to fill the entire arena. Jamie Vardy vaulted onto the advertising board to lead the chants, Farfán waved his shirt in circles above his head, and Jones helped hoist Mateo onto his teammates' shoulders as the fans belted out the song they had created for him.

Top of the Bundesliga, cruising in European competition, and coming off a six-goal demolition of their greatest rivals on their own pitch. It was the kind of afternoon that supporters talk about for decades.

Bujerab walked toward the tunnel at the back of the celebration, his thoughts still drifting back to the metallic ring of the crossbar.

Magath stood waiting near the dugout steps, catching his eye as he approached.

"Still stewing over that shot against the bar, are you?" Magath asked, falling into step beside him.

"It was an inch from being a proper goal, boss," Bujerab said with a rueful expression.

"Perhaps," Magath said, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder as they walked down the tunnel. "Or maybe you scuff it and we end up having a very different chat right now. I don't care about the missed finish. What caught my eye was how you handled the last ten minutes. I watched an attacking midfielder who wanted personal glory drop back next to Jones, do the dirty tracking, clog the passing lanes, and keep possession ticking over without looking for a highlight reel."

Magath stopped and looked him in the eye. "That is the exact discipline I struggled to pull out of you last season. Today, you showed you understand it. A goal is nice on paper, but that kind of work rate is what actually wins titles."

Bujerab was quiet for a second, absorbing the praise.

"Honestly, boss, I thought you were looking past me after the winter break," Bujerab admitted quietly.

"I never look past players who put in the shift for the shirt," Magath replied, giving his shoulder a firm pat before continuing down the hall. "You let yourself doubt your place here, and that was on you, not me. You are an important part of this squad, and you always have been. Now get inside before you catch a chill brooding over a piece of metal."

Bujerab watched him head toward the locker room with a quiet nod. As he pushed through the dressing-room doors into the roaring music and flying water bottles, the nagging frustration of the crossbar melted away, replaced by the reassuring sense that he was truly part of the journey again.

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